1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a clip that is used to hold a door open during electro-coating and painting of a vehicle.
2. Background Art
Vehicles are generally produced on assembly lines where component parts are assembled together. Painted frame body components including body panels, doors and structural components are assembled and then electro-coated and painted as a unit to assure acceptable paint quality. After painting, the doors are disassembled from the vehicle to provide access for the assembly of internal components to the doors, such as windows, window operating mechanisms, door handles, lock mechanisms, interior soft trim panels, and the like. The doors are reassembled to the vehicle at a later point on the assembly line.
The doors of a vehicle must be held open during electro-coating and painting to assure complete coverage and to avoid damage to the surface coatings. Door checks that are incorporated in the vehicle are not installed prior to the electro-coating and painting because they are not painted with the vehicle to assure proper operation and avoid paint quality problems. Temporary clips or other tools have been proposed, but may be unacceptable due to various reasons such as the effectiveness of the tools, cost, or because they unduly complicate the vehicle manufacturing process.
The present invention is directed to providing an improved method of holding a vehicle door open and to an improved removable clip that is effective and may be provided at a relatively low cost. Further, installation and removal of the clip do not substantially complicate the vehicle manufacturing process and do not require additional process steps or added labor costs.
The above problems and others are addressed by Applicants' invention as summarized below.